Sloan to Play 'One Chord to Another' in Full on 20th Anniversary Tour

--taken from: Exclaim!

by Gregory Adams

With over 25 years worth of music to sift through, it may be hard to pick a favourite Sloan album. If, however, you're a massive fan of the Canadian pop rock project's 1996 LP, One Chord to Another, you're in for a treat. The band have just announced they're going to be playing the album in full on an upcoming 20th anniversary tour.

While a few dates had leaked earlier in the month, Sloan have now unveiled a proper tour route for their "One Chord to Another 20th Anniversary Tour." Speaking to Exclaim!, the band explained that the first leg of concerts kicks off in early April, with shows running from Ontario out to BC.

Sloan will play two sets a night, with a full-album performance of One Chord to Another preceding a more general set of "hits and fan favourites." The quartet had pulled off a similar feat in 2012 when they were touring behind an expanded box set release of their 1994 classic, Twice Removed.

Though details have yet to arrive in full, guitarist/vocalist Jay Ferguson also confirmed to Exclaim! that a box set release behind One Chord to Another is on the way. It's as yet unclear if the collection will be up for grabs for these spring dates.

You'll find the rundown on the first leg of anniversary dates down below, while dates across East Coast Canada and a fuller stretch in the U.S. are expected to be revealed later in the year.

One Chord to Another was written by Sloan in 1995 during a time at which many believed the band had been broken up. It followed their two-album stint with DGC Records and was released in Canada through the group's Murderecords in 1996. Since-shuttered indie imprint the Enclave handled the U.S. release in 1997.

Album stand-outs include the hard garage bop of "The Good in Everyone," horn-blaring pop piece "Everything You've Done Wrong," and Ferguson's knock-out gorgeous, Ringo Starr-saluting masterpiece, "The Lines You Amend."

--taken from: Exclaim!

Choir! Choir! Choir! Celebrates Five Years

Founders reflect on their favourite performances with the city's no-commitment singing group.

--taken from: Torontoist (read more here)

by Daveed Goldman and Nobu Adilman

On February 2, 2011, Daveed Goldman and Nobu Adilman gathered at the Bosley Real Estate office in Queen West to sing. “We had no idea what we were doing,” the pair suggests. But they did something right: that night, Choir! Choir! Choir! was born.

The casual, no-commitment singing group meets twice-weekly in the city to perform their own twist on pop hits. Since that first night, the group has bounced from Bosley to Adilman’s basement to their current home in the back room at Clinton’s, and has performed with big names in the music industry.

In honour of Choir! Choir! Choir!’s five-year anniversary, Torontoist asked Goldman and Adilman to recount their five favourite performances.

4. John Lennon—Imagine

We have such fond memories of all our Epic Nights! events, which have included singing with Sloan’s Chris Murphy and Jay Ferguson (“Coax Me”), Hey Rosetta!’s Tim Baker (“Carry Me Home”), Joel Plaskett (“When I Close My Eyes”), and Odds’ Craig Northey (“Someone Who’s Cool”). But the biggest one yet was held last December, the climax of our “C!C!C! Sings For Syria” campaign to sponsor a Syrian family in Toronto.

Held on the tragic 35th anniversary of John Lennon’s death, Reuben Bullock, front man of Reuben And The Dark, sang the lead to “Imagine” while a capacity crowd at Lee’s Palace sang backup. The night raised $11,000, and to date, our campaign is nearing $70,000.

--taken from: Torontoist (read more here)